Age Of Pretty Pop, They Oughta Be In Pictures - LA Times

Age Of Pretty Pop, They Oughta Be In Pictures

By Robert Hilburn

With the 70’s almost gone, today’s pop scene is being dominated by pretty people like Olivia Newton-John and Peter Frampton, and by pretty music.

This is the age of prettiness in pop. Peter Frampton and Olivia Newton-John, the reigning king and queen, are as comely as their music. Whatever you: think of the pair’s sounds, their albums have one advantage for fans the covers are suitable for framing. But no one misunderstood Olivia Newton-John. She was the first step in the Pretty Pop twist on the easy-listening theme. Though Carly Simon’s; Linda Ronstadt’s and Emmylou Harris’ commercial successes have been aided by their looks, Newton-John is the most striking case of pretty face/pretty voice/pretty sales.

The 28-year-old English-born singer’s first U.S. success was with a soft, willowy version of Dylan’s “If Not for You” in 1972. The record’s innocent, breathless tone was gently affecting, but hardly memorable. Coupled with her alluring good looks, the disc’s success seemed like a modern Cinderella tale in which a gorgeous but not particularly talented young woman got a chance to fulfill her dreams of stardom.

Even when she had hits two years later with “Let Me Be There” and If You Love Me, Let Me Know, - few took her seriously. There was such sparkle in her personality and music when she opened for the Smothers Brothers at the Greek Theater in 1974, I remember thinking how she must go through two tubes of Pepsodent a day. But Newton-John’s success in 1975 proved she was no fairy tale. Not only was she the year’s biggest female album seller but she won a Grammy for the year’s best vocal. Her “I Honestly Love You” named the top single.

Newton-John’s voice has more range and character live than on record. She also has a warmly unpretentious stage manner. But she is hardly one of today’s best vocalists. The awards, show you just how off base the Grammy voting can be. One of the best things about her new “Making a Good Thing Better” LP is that “Sam.” her last single isn’t on it. That hokey tune (“Sam Sam Here I Am …”) was on her last album. But the new single - the LP’s title tune - isn’t much better.

In parts of the album, Newton-John tries for more than simple wistfulness But the material is spotty, the arrangement often glossy and she still falls back on the “quiver” in her voice when she reaches for emotion. The remake of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire is tepid, and “Coolin’ Down” and “You Won’t See Me Cry” are middlebrow soap opera.

But there is a bright spot. Her handling of Webber-Rice’s Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” (from Evita) is the most adventurous and tailored thing she has done. It should be particularly effective on stage. One high spot out of 11 selections, however, suggests Newton-John’s attempt to erase the Pretty Pop stigma is moving slowly.

It’s no wonder Frampton is such a hit. He combines the good looks of Newton-John with the innocence of Cat Stevens and the gee-whiz enthusiasm of John Denver but insufficient follow-up. Still, “I’m in You” has enough pretty, caressing textures to be snapped up by those who embraced Frampton’s live album. The fact, that the live LP could have ever made Frampton - whose music is little above Newton-John’s in sophistication or challenge - rock’s hottest property confirms what has happened to pop in the 70s.